1985 Topps Baseball Cards

1985 Topps Baseball is one of the most recognizable set of the 1980s. During the great home run chase of 1998, collectors were dropping hundreds of dollars for Mark McGwire rookie cards. His youthful smile and USA Baseball uniform made it stand out further. Despite hemorrhaging in value in recent years, the 1985 Topps Mark McGwire rookie is still one of the most iconic baseball cards of the modern era.

But 1985 Topps Baseball is about more than just a single slugger. It also had some of the first widely available cards of Roger Clemens and Kirby Puckett. Both were included in 1984 Fleer Update, which still proves to be a tough set to find. Other rookie cards in the set include 1988 National League Cy Young winner, Orel Hershiser, and former Reds slugger, Eric Davis.

The 1985 Topps Baseball set keeps pace at 792 cards. After two years of two-photo fronts, base cards go back to a single image. The release has several subsets, the most popular of which are the cards honoring the 1984 USA Baseball Olympic squad, which include McGwire. Cards 271 to 282 look back at some of baseball's first overall draft picks. Another interesting subset is Father-Sons, which looks at some of baseball's lineage. Record Breakers and All-Stars are also included in the set.

Ryan Cracknell | E-Mail AuthorRyan is a former member of The Cardboard Connection Writing Staff.
His collecting origins began with winter bike rides to the corner store, tossing a couple of quarters onto the counter and peddling home with a couple packs of O-Pee-Chee hockey in his pocket. Today, he continues to build sets, go after inserts with cool technologies, chase Montreal Expos and finish off his John Jaha master collection.

User Reviews

This is why I won’t sell my cards like the 5 you listed on eBay. People are selling some of those for a buck or a little more. To many people on there out to make anything they can in a hurry. COMC.COM looking better and better

Great set with Clemens and Puckett RCs, as well as the ’84 Olympic team (the McGwire was always at the top of my wish list as a kid, and I finally picked up a couple when I returned to the hobby last year). I’d give it five stars if not for the inconsistency in picture focus.